While motorcycles are typically ridden so that they are somewhat perpendicular to the road surface, when rounding road curves, motorcycles lean away from the perpendicular. The leaning away from the perpendicular becomes especially apparent when motorcycles are raced, as the rider's knee will typically skim the surface of the racetrack because the motorcycles lean so close to the plane of the racetrack. There is an ever-present danger that the motorcycles will actually slide across the racetrack as they lose grip on the racetrack curve. In such cases, when the motorcycles' tires lose grip, the motorcycles typically slide and crash out of control. The motorcycles' frames suffer expensive damage in such cases.
There is a need for a device that prevents damage to a motorcycle frame so as to prevent the motorcycle frame from impacting and/or scraping the ground. A plethora of devices called “frame sliders” are sold to prevent damage to a motorcycle frame, as detailed below.
The most common frame slider assembly, which is sold by a number of manufacturers, attaches a skid pad directly to the frame of the motorcycle by using a primary bolt that runs though the center of the skid pad. The concept is that the skid pad will take the abrasion from the racetrack, and damage to the motorcycle frame will be prevented. When the skid pad wears out, a new skid pad can replace it. This design often causes difficulty in removal of the skid pad because the pad can deform in a crash, partially covering the opening of the primary bolt and making access difficult. Another problem with this design is that the primary bolt often threads into an aluminum cylinder head of the motorcycle. Frequent removal and engagement of the primary bolt can damage the aluminum cylinder head, an undesired result.
To use any of the common frame sliders, the user bolts a plastic slider to the frame of a motorcycle. As aforementioned, when the user tips the motorcycle, rather than scratching or scraping the motorcycle frame, the user scratches or scrapes the frame slider. While the motorcycle is protected, the frame slider takes damage, and oftentimes the hole in the skid pad deforms so that the user can no longer get the skid pad to slip off the bolt. Another disadvantage of these frame sliders is that the skid pad is hollow so that it can receive the primary bolt, but being hollow means that the frame slider has less material, so it wears out faster than desired.
There are two products that allow removal of the skid pad without the removal of the primary bolt, but each has its limitations. Both of the products secure a base to the motorcycle using a primary bolt that holds a skid pad via threads on the skid pad. The main limitations of one of the product is the propensity for the skid pad to spin off during a crash, as the skid pad simply unfurls from the base as the ground rotates the skid pad about the base. Further, a great deal of physical effort is required to completely tighten or remove the skid pad from the base.
A second product also allows removal of the skid pad without the removal of the primary bolt. The second product has the skid pad attached to the base using a second bolt that runs through the center of the skid pad and threads in to base. This design often presents difficulty in removal of the skid pad because the skid pad can deform in a crash, partially covering the opening to the second bolt, making access to the second bolt difficult.
Thus, there is a need for a device that prevents damage to a motorcycle frame so as to prevent the motorcycle frame from impacting and/or scraping the ground; but such a device must be easy to assemble and disassemble, and such a device must be capable of not being deformed so as to prevent removal after a crash. Moreover, there is a need for a device that is longer lasting than the typical frame slider.